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Friday, 13th April 2018

Soul Electronics started out by partnering with a well-known rapper, Ludacris, to produce his line of headphones called, Soul By Ludacris. Now, Soul Electronics has evolved into a consumer electronics and manufacturing company that manufactures high-quality audio, noise canceling, and wireless products.

The Soul ST-XS is retailing for S$199 in Singapore. There are three colors available for Soul ST-XS. Black, Pink, and Blue. It seems that the Blue is out of stock right now.

Soul ST-XS is a no-frills earbud. It doesn’t come with any companion app (which is a good thing these days).

Specifications

Speaker: Dual 6 mm Dynamic Neodymium Drivers

Frequency Response: 20 to 20,000 Hz

Sensitivity: 91 dB

Water Resistant: IPX4

Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.2

Bluetooth Profiles: HFP, A2DP, and AVRCP

Dimensions: 20 x 16 x 24 mm

Weight: 4g

Battery: 45 mAh

Battery Life: 2.5 Hours

Charging Case

Dimensions: 75 x 33 x 32 mm

Weight: 43g

Battery: 500 mAh

Battery Life: 4 Full Re-Charges (Up To 10 Hours On The Go)

In this short review, I will be comparing it with Zolo Liberty+ as it is almost at the same retail price point as the Zolo Liberty+. Zolo Liberty+ is retailing for US$149.99 (S$198) on Amazon but it doesn’t ship to Singapore directly.

Because it is made of plastic and has only 500 mAh battery in it, the charging case is light and compact.

Soul ST-XS Wireless Earphones – Charging Case

The earbuds sit perfectly in the recessed area of the charging case and with the help of magnets, it snaps perfectly into place.

For Zolo Liberty+ and Bragi The Dash Pro, you may sometime have to fiddle with the earbuds to snap it into place.

Soul ST-XS Wireless Earphones – Inside Charging Case

Battery
The Soul ST-XS gives you 2.5 hours of battery life while the Zolo Liberty+ gives you 3.5 hours.

The charging case of the Soul ST-XS features a 500 mAh battery that gives you up to 4 full recharge, and that adds up to 10 extra hours. Zolo Liberty+ charging case gives you up to 48 additional hours.

Because the battery capacity of the Soul ST-XS is much lesser, the weight of the earbuds and the charging case are also lighter.

Fit
The fit for the default size ear tip is good. It manages to block out most of the noises when it is in my ears.

Both Soul ST-XS and Zolo Liberty+ are equally comfortable in the ears.

I find that the earbuds of Zolo Liberty+ drop out more easily than Soul ST-XS. So if I have to go for a run, I will choose the Soul ST-XS.

Soul ST-XS is IPX4 water/sweat resistant while Zolo Liberty+ is IPX5 (which makes it slightly more water resistant).

Soul ST-XS Wireless Earphones – Inside Ear

Pairing
The pairing process is straightforward. Remove the left earbud from the charging case, place it in your ears and paired it with your phone. Once that is done, remove the right earbud and place it in your ears.

The left earbud is the master earbud, and hence it will be paired with your phone first followed by the right earbud pairing with the left earbud.

Connection
You can use the Soul ST-XS earbuds as a stereo pair or as an individual with the left earbud as the master.

Despite being a stereo pair, when answering a call or activating Siri/Google Assistant, the sound will only come out from the left earbud. This is similar to Zolo Liberty+ as well.

Controls
Both earbuds have a single button on them for you to control your call and music.

Most of the controls can only be done on one earbud and in this case, it will be the master earbud which again is the left earbud.

However, two controls can be done on either earbud which is play/pause music (press once on either side) and forwarding call (press twice on either side).

Audio Quality
I would think overall the audio quality of the Soul ST-XS is as good as Zolo Liberty+ and better than AirPods.

The Soul ST-XS has good bass with clear vocals.

When comparing earbuds, I still find that the audio quality of Bragi The Dash Pro better.

Conclusion
The Soul ST-XS is a good alternative to Zolo Liberty+, but I wish it had longer battery life.

The battery life is probably sacrificed to make Soul ST-XS lighter and cheaper. Cheaper in a sense, if you compare purely on US$ prices on Amazon, Soul ST-XS retails for US$99.98 while Zolo Liberty+ retails for US$149.99.

Some people may consider the mono audio call a disadvantage, but it doesn’t bother me as I don’t get many calls.

Overall, I feel that the audio quality of the Soul ST-XS is acceptable given its S$199 price.